Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Here is a list of some of the greatest music pieces, songs, and albums that go back over four hundred years. The timeline begins with composers who pre-date the seventeenth century all the way to music considered contemporary (modern), with origins in the twentieth century. Again, this list is just a fragment of written works in the history of music and could extend forever if every body's taste was accurately reflected in it. Nonetheless, these are consequential and historic sounds that have managed thus far to endure the test of time.

1) Sacred Music

Gregorio Allegri: Miserere mei, Deus

Tomas Luis de Victoria: Requiem Mass

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis in D major

Rachmanivov: Vespers

Arvo Part: Kanon Pokajanen

The works of Thomas Tallis

The works of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrinna

2) Classical (The term "classical" is used generically and encompasses both baroque, classical, and romantic styles of music)

Bach: "Brandenburg Concertos"

Beethoven: Symphonies No. 6 "Pastorale" and No. 9 "Choral"

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6 "Pathetique" (Not "pathetic")

Mozart: Symphony No. 25 in G Minor

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" in E flat Major

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor

Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor

3) Modern/ Present Day (Albums)

Beatles: Abbey Road

Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Beatles: Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Stevie Wonder: Innervisions

America: America

Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life

Frank Sinatra: In the Wee Small Hours

Bee Gees: Saturday Night Fever(Yes, I love the Bee Gees)

3) Jazz/ Blues

I'm not a big jazz fan, but you can't go wrong with these three classics.

Dave Brubeck Quartet: Take Five

John Coltrane: My Favorite Things

George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

4) Best Song (not always accompanying the best albums)

Beatles: Hey Jude

Stevie Wonder: Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing

Elton John/ Eric Clapton: Runaway Train

Beatles: With a Little Help from My Friends

The Alan Parsons Project: Eye in the Sky

Beatles: Let It Be

Queen: We Will Rock You

Stevie Wonder: He's Misstra Know It All

5) Best Love Song

Barbara Streisand: Evergreen

Alisson Moyet or Dusty Springsfield renditions: What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life

Elton John: The One

Bee Gees: How Deep is Your Love

Bonnie Tyler: Total Eclipse of the Heart

Beatles: Something

Righteous Brothers: Unchained Melody

Which one am I missing that should DEFINITELY have been up there? Let me know.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Well, since I've been discussing this in both blog sphere and with my immediate friends, here is a small list of some of the best movies ever made (in my humble opinion) according to genre, but in no particular order. The list, of coarse, can grow considerably beyond five films but I wanted to keep it concise.

1) Sci-Fi

2001 A Space Odyssey

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Alien and Aliens

Star Wars Trilogy

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial

2) Horror/ Thriller

The Exorcist

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Halloween (the original)

Silence of the Lambs

The Thing (1982)

3) Mystery

In the Heat of the Night

Chinatown

Rear Window

The Maltese Falcon

Citizen Kane

4) Action

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Predator

Robocop

Gladiator

The Matrix Trilogy

5) Drama

Saving Private Ryan

Schindler's List

The Godfather I and II

The Shawshank Redemption

To Kill a Mockingbird

6) Romance

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Casablanca

Somewhere in Time

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Roxanne

7) Comedy

Dr. Strangelove

Groundhog Day

Animal House

Austin Powers I and III

Shrek

8) Fantasy

All Harry Potter movies

Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Clash of the Titans

The Wizard of Oz

Fantasia

Kris, you were right. Love Actually was a pretty descent movie, even with Hugh Grant in it. There were a few scenes that should have been edited out and flushed down the toilet, but otherwise a worthwhile flick.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Well, for me no weekend has ever been more lethargic than this one (thank God). I was able to do a few more detailed checks on the camera I'm going to purchase and feel thoroughly comfortable with the choice I've made. Also, I was able to order a few more computer components to (hopefully) begin assembling the behemoth I'll be using for all my multimedia functions.

Part II: Neurology

Am I missing something? Have neurologist or scientists with theistic inclinations not discussed the neurological functions of the brain and how it relates to continuation after death? I can find NOTHING on this subject matter. I'm to the point where the question might be considered taboo[Why? This would make no sense. Have they (theistic scientists) been stumped by a finding they have no rebuttal against?], or so trivial that they have not only discussed it, but they are no moving beyond this topic and unto more lofty subject matter. In my understanding of God, the soul, and life after death, the neurological activities of the human being are a major sticking point for me. If you have any exposure to this topic, try answering a few of these:

1) If our personalities - and virtually everything we are - is sustained within some lobe inside the brain, WHAT continues after death when ALL neurological activity has come to a complete STOP?

2) What evidence even merely suggests continuation after death? Is "non-entity" a more accurate description of our ultimate fate?

3) If religious activity is nothing more than a psychological necessity to keep us emotionally "balanced" (as some have suggested), could we not extend this line of thinking to God, and conclude He exists nowhere but in our own minds, and not outside us as a living, detectable, consequential Deity?

These questions are just a few from a much larger volume. If you have an opinion, I welcome it.

Tom

“The search for truth is in one way hard and in another way easy, for it is evident that no one can master it fully or miss it wholly. But each adds a little to our knowledge of nature, and from all the facts assembled there arises a certain grandeur.” ~Aristotle

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Well, the computer that I'm assembling is slowly coming together. All six hard drives, optical drives, CPU. MOBO, and other components are poised for action. I'm missing a few more items, after which this over sized hunk of junk will (hopefully) redeem itself. This tower will have a predominant multimedia functionality (I've go 2 iPods and I'm buying an Archos 160 GB Multimedia Player - if I can find one). When will it end?

Item #2

I'm narrowing down my selection of cameras. I'd like to post pics of friends, family, and myself to my blog, since everybody else seems to be doing so already. I should be clicking away and posting in the next few weeks. It seems everybody has some opinion on which camera is worthwhile. I didn't know pictures were so absolutely popular (what cave am I living in?).

Item #3

The Apple iPhone- is it worth it? cnet.com gave the new gadget positive reviews with minor gigs for missing features and call quality. My personal idiosyncrasy is to wait for the second or third generation iPhone (I know that could still be a while away) so they not only work out the bugs from this first generation iPhone, but expand pre-existing technology (4 GB of hard drive is not all the much for my usage) as well as introduce features that at this moment in time are in the beta phase.